Kenyan police fire blanks to disperse protesters hours after parliament was breached

EVELYNE MUSAMBI, Associated Press

27 mins ago

Protesters disperse as Kenyan police fire a water cannon at them during a protest against proposed tax increases in a finance bill in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Authorities fired blank cartridges to disperse protesters in a Nairobi suburb on Wednesday night, just hours after demonstrators stormed parliament in deadly demonstrations and burned parts of the building while lawmakers fled as the country grapples with controversial tax hikes.

Police said they fired more than 700 blank cartridges in Githurai, a suburb east of the capital Nairobi. Videos of gunfire piercing the night air were shared online and published by local media.

The military was deployed overnight to assist police during the “security emergency” and patrolled the central business district on Tuesday night, while President William Ruto described the events as treason and vowed to quell the unrest “at all costs”.

Thousands of demonstrators stormed and burned down part of Kenya’s parliament on Tuesday to protest against tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several demonstrators were killed.

More than 100 people were injured in the protests on Tuesday, civil society groups report. It is still unclear how many people were arrested.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep sadness at the reports of deaths and injuries.

“I urge the Kenyan authorities to exercise restraint and call for all demonstrations to be peaceful,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

In the unprecedented protests that breached parliament, young people protested against rising prices of fuel, food and other essential goods. In Nairobi, a regional hub for expatriates and home to a UN complex, inequality among Kenyans has deepened, as has long-standing frustration with government corruption.

Opposition to the finance bill has united large sections of the country, some of whom explicitly reject the tribal conflicts that have torn Kenya apart in the past. Some who had passionately supported Ruto felt betrayed.

A Kenyan newspaper, Daily Nation, called for dialogue. “Let us think sensibly together,” read the front page.

Local broadcaster Citizen TV hosted a discussion titled “A Nation on the Brink,” in which participants called on the government to engage with the public.